Paid Memberships Pro

What Paid Memberships Pro does

Paid Memberships Pro (PMPro) is a WordPress membership plugin platform developed and operated by Stranger Studios, LLC, a privately held Pennsylvania company founded in 2011 by Kim Coleman and Jason Coleman. The core product is a 100% GPL open-source PHP plugin that enables WordPress site owners to restrict content, manage member registrations and profiles, and process recurring subscription payments through Stripe, PayPal, Paystack, CCBill, or manual methods. The platform ships with a Memberlite theme, over 60 free and premium Add-Ons, and approximately 55 native integrations spanning payment gateways, LMS plugins (LearnDash, LifterLMS), community tools (BuddyBoss, bbPress, BuddyPress), email marketing (Mailchimp, ConvertKit), e-commerce (WooCommerce), page builders (Elementor), and automation (Zapier). A REST API and webhook handlers for major gateways are exposed for developer integrations.

The company monetizes through a three-tier freemium model: a free core plugin with unlimited members and content, a Standard plan at $499/year ($49/month) that unlocks premium support, automatic updates, and all Add-Ons for a single site, and a Max plan at $999/year ($99/month) that bundles fully managed hosting on DigitalOcean with Cloudflare security, priority support, site migration, an AI Skills library, and 'Do It For Me' custom development. Distribution is product-led and community-led: the free plugin is listed on the official WordPress plugin repository, supported by an active Slack community, free courses, code recipes, case studies, an affiliate program paying up to $200 per sale, and live video sessions. The company reports more than 90,000 online businesses using the platform and targets a horizontal set of use cases including courses and coaching (the primary segment), associations and NPOs, blogs and paid newsletters, communities, member directories, podcasting, and video/media.

Name

Paid Memberships Pro

Legal name

Stranger Studios, LLC

Website

https://paidmembershipspro.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Paid Memberships Pro is a WordPress membership plugin, operated by Stranger Studios, LLC, that lets creators and small businesses restrict content, manage members, and process recurring subscription payments, with tiered plans from free to $999/year managed hosting.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Reading

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Premium Subscription Plans: Annual subscription model with two paid tiers: Standard ($499/year) and Max ($999/year). Subscriptions renew automatically on anniversary date. Includes access to premium add-ons, support, and advanced features.
2. Core Plugin (Freemium): Free core plugin with unlimited restricted content, membership levels, and members. Includes basic gateway integrations (Stripe, PayPal), email marketing integrations, and access to Slack community.
3. Monthly Plans: Monthly payment options available for Standard ($49/month) and Max ($99/month) plans as alternative to annual billing.
4. Premium Add-ons: Premium add-on plugins available to paid plan members for extended functionality like Series drip-feed, approval processes, and advanced integrations.
5. Affiliate Program: Affiliate referrals earning up to $200 per full-priced sale. 90-day cookie tracking. Quarterly PayPal payouts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Paid Memberships Pro is a 100% GPL open-source WordPress membership plugin that enables website owners to restrict content across 28 content types, manage unlimited free or paid membership levels, and process recurring subscription payments through multiple payment gateways. It is offered via a freemium model with a free core plugin and paid Standard ($499/year) and Max ($999/year) plans that unlock premium add-ons, support, and managed hosting. The platform serves over 90,000 online businesses worldwide and integrates with 55+ third-party tools.

Product overview

Paid Memberships Pro is a comprehensive WordPress membership platform consisting of a core open-source plugin (100% GPL), the Memberlite Theme, over 60 free and premium Add Ons, and managed PMPro Hosting services. The platform is offered through tiered pricing: a free core tier with access to 29 Add Ons, a Standard plan ($499/year) with premium support and all Add Ons, and a Max plan ($999/year) adding fully managed hosting, AI Skills library, and dedicated development services. The ecosystem supports integrations with major payment gateways (Stripe, PayPal), LMS platforms (LearnDash, LifterLMS), marketing tools (Mailchimp, ConvertKit), community plugins (BuddyBoss, BuddyPress, bbPress), and automation via Zapier.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Memberlite Theme: A WordPress theme designed specifically for membership sites built with Paid Memberships Pro, featuring membership-focused layouts and design elements.

Products and services

• Paid Memberships Pro (PMPro) Core Plugin 100% GPL open-source WordPress membership plugin that enables website owners to restrict content across 28 content types, manage unlimited free or paid membership levels, process recurring subscription payments through Stripe and PayPal, handle user registration, custom profile fields, and member dashboards, and integrate with LMS, ecommerce, email marketing, and community plugins.
• Memberlite Theme Open-source WordPress theme designed specifically for membership sites built with Paid Memberships Pro, featuring membership-focused layouts, design elements, and compatibility with PMPro features.
• PMPro Add Ons (60+ extensions) Collection of over 60 free and premium add-on plugins that extend PMPro functionality, including integrations with payment gateways, LMS platforms, email marketing tools, ecommerce, community plugins, and automation services. Categories include Free, Premium (Standard), Popular, Admin, Integration, Payment, and Third Party add-ons.
• PMPro Hosting Fully managed WordPress hosting service powered by DigitalOcean droplets with Cloudflare DNS, caching, and security, including server-level management, automated backups, optimized WordPress environment, and a 100-day money-back guarantee.
• Series Add On (Drip-Feed Content) Premium PMPro add-on that drips content to members based on days since signup, automatically sends email notifications when new content becomes available, and integrates with membership levels to control which members receive which serialized content.
• PMPro 2.8 Usage Tracking Feature Opt-in usage tracking capability added to the PMPro core plugin, enabling sites to share anonymized, non-sensitive data on a monthly basis to inform product improvements and new feature development.
• Specific Date-Based Content Unlocking (Code Recipe) Code recipe for PMPro that enables content to be unlocked on specific calendar dates as an alternative to the Series Add On's relative-to-signup drip-feed behavior.

Quantifiable outcome

• Customer base grew 10x
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration15 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationPrimary payment gateway integration for processing credit card payments. Included free with core plugin. Supports Stripe Connect for platform-style businesses and Legacy API Keys. Used for recurring subscriptions and one-time payments.
• PayPalcoreTechnology or IntegrationPrimary payment gateway integration for PayPal payments. Included free with core plugin. Supports PayPal Express Checkout and PayPal Payments.
• DigitalOceancoreTechnology or IntegrationCloud infrastructure provider for PMPro Max managed hosting. Each site gets a dedicated DigitalOcean droplet with Cloudflare security and server-level caching.
• CloudflarecoreTechnology or IntegrationDNS, caching, and security services for PMPro managed hosting infrastructure.
• LearnDashmajorTechnology or IntegrationWordPress LMS (Learning Management System) integration for course delivery within membership sites.
• LifterLMSmajorTechnology or IntegrationWordPress LMS integration for course and membership site combinations.
• WooCommercemajorTechnology or IntegrationE-commerce platform integration allowing membership access control for WooCommerce products and store functionality.
• BuddyBossmajorTechnology or IntegrationCommunity and membership platform integration with BuddyBoss for social features and member management.
• bbPressmajorTechnology or IntegrationWordPress forum plugin integration for community discussion features within membership sites.
• BuddyPressmajorTechnology or IntegrationWordPress social networking plugin integration for member profiles and social features.
• MailchimpmajorTechnology or IntegrationEmail marketing platform integration for newsletter subscriptions and member communications.
• ConvertKitmajorTechnology or IntegrationEmail marketing platform (also known as Kit) integration for newsletter and paid newsletter functionality.
• ZapiermajorTechnology or IntegrationAutomation platform integration connecting PMPro with 5,000+ apps for workflow automation. Available in free core plugin.
• ElementormajorTechnology or IntegrationPage builder plugin integration for designing membership site layouts and checkout pages.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Restrict Content Pro: WordPress membership plugin providing content restriction, recurring billing, and member management. Closely overlapping feature set with PMPro and a common alternative for SMBs evaluating membership plugins.
• MemberMouse: WordPress membership plugin with a focus on subscription management, content dripping, and member lifecycle tools. Overlaps with PMPro's course/coaching and premium content use cases, and is often benchmarked against it.
• MemberPress: Direct competitor offering a WordPress membership plugin with content restriction, subscription billing, and LMS-style features. Targets the same SMB and creator customer base as Paid Memberships Pro and is widely considered its primary alternative.

Broad incumbents

• LearnDash: Established WordPress LMS that includes built-in membership and subscription capabilities through LearnDash memberships add-ons. Overlaps with PMPro on course-based memberships and integrates with it as a partner, but its primary identity is LMS, not membership infrastructure.
• LifterLMS: WordPress LMS with membership and subscription add-ons competing with PMPro's courses and coaching segment. Functions as both a partner integration and adjacent alternative for course creators building paid learning experiences on WordPress.
• WooCommerce Memberships: WooCommerce's official memberships extension offering content restriction and member-only pricing on top of WooCommerce stores. Targets similar SMB merchants and is bundled with the broader WooCommerce ecosystem where PMPro also operates.
• Wild Apricot: Hosted membership management platform built primarily for associations and non-profits. Overlaps with PMPro's Associations & NPOs segment (e.g., BeautyCouncil use case) and represents the SaaS-style alternative for membership-driven organizations.

Emerging players

• Memberful: Hosted SaaS membership platform for creators and publishers offering subscription billing and member-only content. Competes with PMPro for the same SMB creator customer but offers a managed alternative rather than a self-hosted plugin.
• Patreon: Creator monetization platform with subscription tiers, member-only content, and community features. Competes indirectly with PMPro by handling membership billing for individual creators who would otherwise build their own WordPress sites.

Others

• BuddyBoss: WordPress community platform that bundles social networking and membership capabilities. Functions as both a PMPro integration partner and an adjacent solution for community-led membership sites.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pmproplugin
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCFtMIeYJ4_YVidi1aq9kl5g
• Facebookfacebook.com/paidmembershipspro
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/showcase/paid-memberships-pro
• Instagraminstagram.com/paid_memberships_pro

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Paid Memberships Pro